BEIJING, May 23 (Xinhua) -- China's leading online travel agency (OTA) Ctrip reported a surge in net income growth in the first quarter of this year, according to the company's unaudited financial results.

Net income attributed to Ctrip's shareholders increased to 1.1 billion yuan (about 170 million U.S. dollars) in the first quarter of 2018 from 52 million yuan in the same period of 2017.

Net revenue increased 11 percent year on year to 6.7 billion yuan in the first three months. Transportation ticketing was the top revenue contributor, followed by accommodation reservation.

Ctrip's international businesses sustained robust growth momentum as the OTA continues to tap China's growing outbound tourism market and expand its customer base in overseas markets.

Excluding Skyscanner, the flight comparison site Ctrip bought in 2016, international air ticketing accounted for over 40 percent of the group's air ticketing revenue, while Skyscanner's direct booking program delivering revenue growth of over 600 percent year on year in the three-month period.

The company also increased its presence in lower-tier cities, with total gross merchandise volume of the offline stores rising around 50 percent year on year.

Ctrip is in a good position to capture growth in the travel industry, both domestically and globally, said the company's CEO Jane Sun. It expects its net revenue growth to continue at a year-on-year rate of approximately 12 percent to 17 percent in the second quarter.